Published Wednesday, May 27, 2020 

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Authorities called on the population to comply with driving hours and sanitary order restrictions to prevent the spread of covid-19 in the country, said Michael Soto-Rojas, minister of security on Tuesday.

"The pandemic is not over, we call for common sense to responsibly respect the orders that have been established," said Soto.

According to Soto, during the weekend hundreds of infractions were issued by the police.

The most recent cases occurred over the weekend when police seized 37 bicycles from various cyclists who were circulating without maintaining the minimum distance of 2 meters and through highways prohibited for riding a bicycle.

Also, police reports show having closed 104 bars and restaurants, due to disrespecting sanitary measures such as too many people in a small place.

Additionally, the police had to attend to 2,067 calls for complaints of private parties that are currently prohibited. "This type of gathering is not allowed," said Soto.

Police were also busy arresting six youths who entered a skate park located in the province of Alajuela, they failed to comply with the order prohibiting activities with crowds of people. Of the six detainees, three were taken to the Juvenile Criminal Court for being minors, the other three were taken to the Alajuela Prosecutor's Office, as they were of legal age.

Police even had trouble with tourist activities, as tours are not allowed due to sanitary orders by the Ministry of Health.

The ministry is investigating a case where a group of people organized a tour to the Pejibaye River in Cartago Province. According to the police report, due to the heavy rains over the weekend, the Pejibaye River suddenly increased in its flow leaving several people who were on the tour caught up by the current of the river. With the help of the Red Cross and Firefighters the tourists were rescued.

However, the people who organized the Pejibaye River tour are now being investigated.


On Saturday, another tour group was stopped and seized. But in this case, in a yacht. The group was sailing near San Lucas Island in the Gulf of Nicoya, with 26 people on board, including a child.

During the routine check, officers found packages with 10 grams of marijuana on board, which was hidden under the ship's dash controls.

The Coast Guard of the Puntarenas station carried the yacht to port. And the people who were on the tour were taken to the Prosecutor's Office of that province.

Also, the captain of the yacht will be investigated because the passengers were not wearing their life jackets.

Drivers were also giving the police a busy weekend.

Police also reported that between Friday and Monday, 750 drivers were fined for disrespecting the ban on driving. Of these incidents, 59 drivers were arrested for driving drunk.

According to Minister Soto, if cases of non-compliance with sanitary restrictions continue, the authorities will take stricter measures to prevent covid-19 from spreading throughout the country.

"For a few reckless people, we will not allow the lives of others to be at risk as a result of this pandemic that is killing many people abroad," Soto said.

According to the Ministry of Security the police will continue to focus on enforcing the sanitary orders that aim to contain the spread of covid-19 in the country.


Regarding the development of covid-19 in the country, the health ministry reported on Tuesday 312 active cases. Active patients are those who currently have the virus.

Authorities provided the following statistics of the evolution of the virus in the country:

• Of the 956 infected since the first case was detected in March, 634 coronavirus patients have fully recovered.

• The ages of those affected range from six months to 87 with an average age of 37. On May 14, a 6-months-old baby tested positive with the virus.

• 13 patients are being treated in public hospitals, where 11 are in recovery rooms and 2 have been reported in an Intensive Care Unit, ICU, with delicate health conditions. Most of the infected patients are quarantined in their homes.

• 173 foreigners infected, of these 27 entered the country unauthorized and are jailed in the facilities of the Professional Migration Police in Heredia Province.

• 46 foreigners working as truck drivers transporting merchandise were denied border entry because they tested positive for covid-19.

• 15,747 people have been ruled out.

• 23,703 medical covid-19 tests have been made.

• 10 deaths have been reported from patients infected with covid-19 since March.

The updated number of total patients in each district can be reached at the National Distance Education University on its Covid-19 Map.

As of Tuesday night, the pandemic has killed 350,423 patients worldwide according to recent statistics reported by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.



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